11 By ourselves, we’re lone voices, a whisper in a swarm of propaganda out there.
(A) Our opinion is censored by the official talk and position.
(B) We side with the majority view of the government.
(C) The opinion poll favors our view.
(D) Our opinion stands for the minority as opposed to the official position.

7 The executive director would ______ in a memo to all members the suggestions brought up at this meeting. (A) attenuate (B) franchise (C) memorize (D) recapitulate

8 Whereas the French salon excluded politics from polite conversation, in the British coffee house politics was a main ______. (A) appreciation (B) distraction (C) infraction (D) preoccupation

9 The IBM 5150 is recognized as the ancestor of the modern PC, a crucial step in computers’ evolution from playthings to ______ tools of modern business and private life. (A) assessable (B) indispensable (C) illegible (D) variable

10 Her advice ______ good, I could not help following it. (A) had been (B) be (C) was (D) being

12 The readers’ criticism that the editorial was riddled with defeatist pessimism cut the writer to the quick. (A) The editorial was badly designed as a riddle of defeatist pessimism. (B) The writer of the editorial felt badly hurt by his readers’ critical comments. (C) Readers of this editorial quickly stopped the writer from spreading the defeatist pessimism. (D) Readers’ quick answer to the riddle of defeatist pessimism embarrassed the writer of the editorial.

13 According to the passage, what is one advantage for the countries that store gold in the Federal Reserve vault? (A) It is near the United States Assay Office. (B) The gold is kept in New York, the financial capital of the world. (C) The gold is kept below sea level and so is not affected by the weather. (D) They do not have to pay shipping and insurance charges.

14 According to the passage, what happens when one country wants to pay a debt in gold to another country? (A) The gold is moved to the Federal Reserve Bank from the United States Assay Office. (B) The gold in the vault is moved from one country’s storage area to another’s. (C) The gold must be stamped with the insignia of the country that is receiving the payment. (D) The gold must be weighed to determine its value in dollars, since the price of gold goes up and down so frequently.

15 According to the passage, which of the following statements is true of gold bars? (A) Many of them weigh 33.3 pounds. (B) They were worth only $35 apiece in 1971 but cost $510 in 1979. (C) They are worth about $204,000 apiece at the present time. (D) Almost all of them come from the Soviet Union.

16 According to the passage, what protection is given to the workers in the Federal Reserve vault? (A) They are insured. (B) They wear special shoes. (C) They are allowed to work only short periods of time below sea level. (D) The information is not given in the passage.

17 (A) This will have a serious effect on agriculture. (B) And the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere continues to increase. (C) Scientists call this warming of the Earth and its atmosphere the “greenhouse effect.” (D) And the increase in temperature could be even greater in the Arctic and Antarctic regions.